New ACC to spare none, frame tough lawsThe newly formed Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will seek to have stringent laws and a sea change in the way things are done so that no one could get away with graft.

Demand for early election getting strongerThe demand for an early election is getting stronger day by day among the political parties, and the two major parties, which are known as traditional archrivals, are increasingly singing the same tune

AL not a party of relief looters, says HasinaAwami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the caretaker government (CG) not to compare her party with 'wheat and corrugated iron sheet thieves' of the immediate past BNP-Jamaat coalition

Delhi for stable, democratic BangladeshIndia yesterday said it was interested in a democratic, stable and prosperious Bangladesh and would strive to ensure Saarc becomes a vehicle for peace and development in the region.

Ship owners' tussle delays jute exportOver 10,000 tonnes of raw jute have been stockpiled at Mongla port over the last two months as exporters could not send those due to non availability of ships resulting from continued tussle between local

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Woes of thousands facing eviction on short noticeAbdus Salam, a candidate for the Secondary School Certificate examination starting on March 8, is now busy along with his parents to pack their things as they have to move from their Damalcourt housein

DMCH burn unit in sorry stateFazila, a three-year-old girl, was lying on a hospital bed with burn injury on her right cheek caused by the flame of a lamp. The burn will leave a mark on the beautiful face of the little girl.

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Accused teacher barred from joining RURajshahi University (RU) Syndicate in a meeting on Thursday night rejected the joining appeal of Mia Muhammad Mahiuddin, a prime accused in the murder case of his colleague professor S Taher Ahmed ofgeology

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Sawn off gun, bomb found at Ruet hallPolice recovered a sawn off rifle and a bomb from Students' Union office of Shahid Selim Hall at Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (Ruet) yesterday.

Husband of murdered Sumi heldPolice yesterday arrested the husband of Sumi Akhtar, 24, who was strangled to death the day before at her husband's house of Shilmandi village under Sadar upazila of the district.

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Military options open against Iran: CheneyUS Vice President Dick Cheney vowed the United States would "do everything" it can to deprive Iran of nuclear weapons, and refused to rule out military action in a US television interview Friday.

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Pakistan test-fires long-range missilePakistan successfully test-fired a new version of its long-range nuclear-capable missile Friday, two days after Pakistani and Indian officials signed an agreement in New Delhi to reduce the risk of an

US-India trade ties to get a high-tech boostUS-India trade, which has seen barriers fall dramatically in recent years, will get an additional boost once a US program fostering high-tech exports goes into effect this year, Commerce Secretary Carlos

Malaysia confident to build its own 'Hong Kong'Malaysia on Friday voiced confidence it will attract billions of dollars in global investments to turn its southernmost state Johor into a metropolis similar to China's Shenzhen or Hong Kong.

Qatar, Shell launch mega gas-to-liquids projectQatar on Thursday launched a mega gas-to-liquids (GTL) project in partnership with Royal Dutch/Shell that will cost up to 18 billion dollars, 10 billion of which have already been earmarked.

Coffee helps Nestle record $7.4b profitGlobal food giant Nestle on Thursday reported a rise in 2006 net profits to more than seven billion dollars and said prospects for the year ahead looked good as it moves further into the health and wellbeing

New president of Tangail chamberAbul Kashem Ahmed has been elected unopposed president while Alamgir Khan Menu general secretary of the executive committee of Tangail Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says a press release.

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DHL to invest over $110m in China businessDHL, the world's leading express and logistics company, has announced on Tuesday that it will invest over US$110 million in its China business in the next few years, says a press release.

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Japan, Venezuela sign 15-yr oil dealJapan on Friday signed a 15-year, 3.5 billion-dollar oil deal with Venezuela in a bid to ease its near-total dependence on the turbulent Middle East, companies said.

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Tokyo, London bourses announce allianceThe Tokyo and London stock exchanges announced plans Friday for a business alliance aimed at expanding their global reach, reflecting intensifying competition between the world's top bourses.

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Weekly Currency RoundupFebruary 18-February 22, 2007Local FX MarketUS dollar remained stable against the Bangladeshi taka last week on back of comfortable supply.

Cricket:Visitors on topThe visiting England A batsmen were in subdued mood, unlike their Bangladeshi counterparts, hardly playing any shots during the course of play on way to consolidating their position at the end of thesecond

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Cricket:1975: Windies draw first bloodAt The Oval, the West Indies won the most eagerly awaited game of the tournament by seven wickets against Australia.

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Cricket:Lee blow for AussiesAustralia's hopes of defending their World Cup cricket crown suffered a huge blow with the official withdrawal of pace spearhead Brett Lee Friday.

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Cricket:Akhtar, Asif hinge on testPakistan cri-cket authorities made clear Friday that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will not travel to the Caribbean for the World Cup if they fail to take a dope test.

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Cricket:Ctg hang on for drawThe remaining two seventh round games of the Ispahani Mirzapore Tea 8th National Cricket League ended in draws yesterday as Chittagong batted throughout the day to nullify Dhaka's hope of an outrightvictory

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Cricket:Anyone can win: SobersWest Indian great Garfield Sobers said on Friday the World Cup starting on his home turf next month would be a thriller, with the winner difficult to predict.

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Local SnippetsMohammad Moniruzzaman was declared the best swimmer in the Bangladesh Police Swimming competition in Uttara yesterday. Inspector general Nur Mohammad distributed prizes among Monir and other winners.

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Cricket:Perfect for PietersenA World Cup set in the Caribbean will be the perfect fantasy setting for a cricketer as motivated by the big stage as Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen's boundless talent is matched only by his ambition.

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Cricket:Lara's last shot at gloryWest Indies' hopes of becoming the first host nation to win the cricket World Cup depend a large extent on the form of their captain and leading batsman Brian Lara.

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Cricket:Sister knows best!It may come as a surprise to many cricket fans to find out Ed Joyce is not the first member of his family to play in a Cricket World Cup.

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Tennis:Henin reaches Dubai finalFrench Open champion Justine Henin produced her best performance since her comeback after her marriage breakdown, making a brave recovery from a set down to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-finals

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Football:United go for the jugularWith Chelsea otherwise engaged by the small matter of a League Cup final this weekend, Manchester United can edge another step closer to reclaiming the Premiership title by beating Fulham on Saturday.

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Football:Italian clubs bow outItaly's flirtation with this season's UEFA Cup came to a premature end on Thursday when defeats for Parma and Livorno left the country without a representative in the last 16.

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Football:'Scudetto no joke'Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has hit back at claims the Serie A championship has been greatly devalued by the 'Calciopoli' match-fixing scandal.

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Football:Chubby Ronaldinho The Spanish press on Friday raised the alarm over the expanding waistline of Barcelona's Brazilian star Ronaldinho who has been under form this season.

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Football:Barca aim to stop rotSpanish league leaders Barcelona will be looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat when they travel to struggling Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

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Football:Javier can't waitJavier Mas-cherano has vowed to make the most of his Premiers-hip second chance at Liverpool after escaping the nightmare of his five month spell at West Ham.

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Football:Leverkusen use experienceBlackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel claimed his team were outdone by the European experience of Bayer Leverkusen after the German outfit progressed to the UEFA Cup last 16 with a 0-0 second leg draw atEwood

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Football:Desperate times for BayernDesperate Bayern Munich boss Ottmar Hitzfeld has issued a rallying call to his troops by claiming every match from now on is a cup final.

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Cricket:Easy wins for Boys, OrientExperienced opener Masumuddowla anchored Orient Sporting Club to a four-wicket victory over Young Pegasus B in the Kai-Altech First Division Cricket League at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium yesterday.

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Tennis:Int'l tennis coming to townFive countries including hosts Bangladesh will take part in the Junior Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone pre-qualifying tournament from February 26.

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Cricket:Rayed's day in the sunRayed's half-century and four-wicket haul was enough to give Uttara High School a huge 121-run victory against Tejgaon Government High School in the Standard Chartered Young Tigers School Cricket competition

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Cricket:SL issues WC stampsSri Lanka on Friday issued two commemorative World Cup stamps in a bid to boost its cricketers ahead of the tournament starting in the Caribbean next month.

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Cricket:Sachin helps ailing refereeA pair of gloves worn by Sachin Tendulkar during the Multan Test in Pakistan in 2004 on Friday fetched Rs 1.11 lakh in an auction with the proceeds going for the treatment of an ailing soccer referee.

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Football:Cassano earns Madrid recallItaly striker Antonio Cassano has been included in the Real Madrid squad to visit city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Primera Liga on Saturday.

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Football:Vieira sidelinedInter Milan's bid to win the Champions League suffered a setback on Thursday with the club saying that midfielder Patrick Vieira had injured ligaments in his thigh.

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Football:Stadiums reopen across ItalyItaly's interior ministry has reopened to the public 12 more stadiums closed after a policeman was killed by rioting fans earlier this month.

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Football:Beckham dragged into political campaignReal Madrid midfielder David Beckham has become unwittingly involved in regional Swiss politics after his photo was used to promote the election campaign of a former professional referee-turned politician.

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Football:Capello quashes Emerson rumoursReal Madrid coach Fabio Capello moved to quash further murmurs of dissent inside the Bernabeu on Thursday by denying that Brazilian midfielder Emerson had refused to play against Bayern Munich.

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Football:Juventus seal Grygera dealJuventus have completed the signing of Czech Republic international Zdenek Grygera, the Italian second division club confirmed on Thursday.

'Mothers main architect of children's career'Twenty-seven mothers received 'Ratnagarva Ma Award-2006' at a function in the city yesterday in recognition of their contribution and sacrifice to establish their children in their own fields.

Five murdered in cityFive people, including a woman, were murdered in separate incidents in and on the outskirts of the city yesterday.

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'Bangladesh a country of religious harmony'LGRD and Cooperatives Adviser Anwarul Iqbal yesterday said Bangladesh is a country of religious harmony, with the people of different faiths living in a peaceful atmosphere for ages.

JCD urges DU not to invite Yunus to convocationLeaders of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) yesterday urged the Dhaka University (DU) authorities not to invite Nobel laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus as the convocation speaker to the 43rd convocation of

Dr Iftekhar meets UNDP administratorDr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, foreign adviser to the caretaker government, had a meeting with UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis at the UNDP Headquarters in New York on Thursday, according to a message received

EWB observes Amar EkusheyEducation Watch Bangladesh (EWB) organised a cultural competition on the premises of Public Library yesterday to mark the Amar Ekushey and International Mother Language Day, says a press release.

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Prisoner dies in KhulnaAn undertrial prisoner died at Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) yesterday morning. He was identified as Zakir Hossain, 45, an accused in a robbery case.

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AIUB convocation tomorrowThe 7th convocation of the American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) will be held at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the city tomorrow at 10:00am, says a press release.

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Death anniversaryToday is third death anniversary of journalist Shah Anisur Rahman. He was the Rajshahi correspondent of the daily Ittefaq.

Hindu family land grabbed in NetrakonaA Hindu land owner --Madan Gopal-- has lodged a complaint to Netrakona Superintendent of Police (SP) bringing an allegation of land grabbing against eight BNP cadres by evicting his family from Sarmushia

Educative approaches can reduce corruptionWith the tendering of resignation by the Anti-Corruption Commissioner Maniruddin Ahmed, the stage seemed set for re-constituting the Anti-Corruption Commission with more power and authority in order to

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Nepal: Will govt-Maoist unity remain intact?Fresh fears are being expressed in Nepal on the fate of the hard-earned unity between the seven-party government and the ultra left Maoists, as the latter are calling for total abolition of monarchy and

Homage to Louis Kahn'Light - Suspense - Death' (aka "Penn Station Kills Me") is a new video+architectural installation created by Naeem Mohaiemen and Philadelphia- based architecture collaborative Gensler+Gutierrez.

Truce is dead, battle for statehood alive: LTTESri Lanka truce monitors pulled out of an embattled northern region where thousands of civilians were on the run fearing a fresh military offensive, as Tiger rebels said the ceasefire was all but dead.

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India renews pressure on Pakistan over militantsIndia wants better ties with Pakistan but the peace process will only bear fruit if Islamabad fully curbs "cross-border terrorism", the president said yesterday, days after a train between the neighbours

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Diplomats to work on new Iran resolutionIran is "thumbing its nose" at the international community by expanding its uranium programme, a top US official said, setting the stage for difficult negotiations on new UN sanctions, with the US likely

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Abbas calls for end to 'unjust' boycottPalestinian president Mahmud Abbas called here yesterday for the crippling embargo brought by the world powers to be lifted in the wake of an agreement to form a unity government of Hamas and Fatah.

Lawyer plans book on Saddam 'secrets' Saddam Hussein's Iraqi lawyer said on Friday he will write a book revealing "many secrets" told to him by the executed dictator about the fall of Baghdad, his arrest and imprisonment.

Muslim nations to hold ME talks in PakistanThe foreign ministers of seven key Muslim nations will meet in Pakistan this weekend to discuss a joint strategy to end the worsening turmoil in the Middle East, officials said yesterday.

NZ targets skilled Asian migrantsThe New Zealand government has announced a major overhaul of its immigration policy as it targets skilled migrants from Asian countries with a focus on information technology.

Editorial:Looting of relief goodsThe moral bankruptcy of a good number of lawmakers of the immediate-past government has become shamefully evident with the unearthing of large quantity of government relief goods from their possession.

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Editorial:Mangrove forest denudedMangroves provide a wall of protection to the coastline. When new accretions emerge out of the sea, these are fledgling, flaccid marshy stretches.

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Easing tensions in the Korean peninsulaThe agreement reached on 13 February at the Six-Party (composed of Russia, Japan, South Korea, China, USA and North Korea) talks in Beijing, after more than three years of tortuous diplomacy, has brought

The extreme machine of the ageI am sure you are familiar with the term 'godfather'. Except its literal meaning, whenever we come across this term, we immediately anticipate something powerful or a very influential position.

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'Madame Wikipedia' runs web giant from village HQFar from the power-broking of Silicon Valley, the new boss of the Internet giant Wikipedia is a soft-spoken French mother of three, who runs the global success story from a home office in a village in

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Oracle - ‘Vendor of the Year for HR Technology’Oracle has been named "HRIS (Human Resources Information System) Vendor of the Year 2006" by Human Resources in their latest annual 'HR Vendors of the Year' awards, in recognition of Oracle's market-leading

Thousand years of Bengali heritageWe Bengalis claim that we are intellectually and culturally rich. This claim may be questionable. Which country or nation we are comparatively richer than and in what context is also questionable.